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3.5 Stars - 61 Opinions
Snowstorm over Lascar ... from afar
The church in Chiu Chiu
The bell tower at Toconao
El Tatio Geysers
Hi,
My girl friend and I will be in Santiago mid December and would like to do the 3days/2nights Salar de Uyuni tour starting from Uyuni and ending in San Pedro.
The problem is that we only have 5 days starting from / coming back to Santiago (we have to be back in Santiago for a wedding). Is it feasible?
The main question is how to get to the start of the tour in Uyuni quickly enough from Santiago. Our current best guess is to fly to Calama and find a 1 day transport to Uyuni from there but I can’t see any (the only transport I found so far is the 3 days San pedro to Uyuni tour…). Any suggestion?
Alternatively we could start the tour from San Pedro but then would have to find a quick (1 day max) and reliable transport to come back from Uyuni to San Pedro. Suggestions most welcome here again.
Also do we have to book these tours in advance in that period (mid december) to make sure we get one when we arrive (we would like to join a 6 people tour… private tours are just too expensive)… given our time constraint, we can’t really wait for a few days...
Thanks a lot for your help
Fab
why don't you just do a tour starting and ending in san pedro? it is the exact same. virtually all tours offer either to start and end in uyuni or san pedro, or start in one and end in the other. so you don't have to organize your own transport.
you probably don't need to book ahead, there are many agencies. i would stay away from Colque, they are pretty crap.
ah... I thought the tours leaving from / ending in San Pedro didn't go to Uyuni, which, as far as I could read, seems to be the best part.
Good to hear that they do, that's definitely the way to go...
thx!
Fab
you will go to the salar de uyuni, but not end up in uyuni, the town. check with an agency beforehand just to make absolutely sure, but that's the way i always remember it being.
When going to San Pedro, be sure to bring enough US dollars or Chilean pesos for your stay in town.
I was told by someone in our travels that there was an ATM in San Pedro, but if so, I never saw it.
An acquaintance had to bus it into Calama to find a bank where she could get some cash.
A warm jacket is necessary especially if you plan to visit the Tatio Geysers.
Good walking boots because there is a lot of places you will have to reach on foot.
A hat and sunscreen for the strong sun rays.
A light sweater for the nights . It gets a little chilly.
...And of course a bathing suit for the great hot water baths !!!
In the Photo my great co-travelers, Yuichiro, Sylvie, Akira and Alexandra. We had a great time, and we have been friends since then. Camping is possible so provide yourself with the necessary equipment.
This 5920 mt./19,418 ft. volcano overlooks the entire San Pedro oasis and is an ever-present sight for every visitor. It's perfect conical shape is an alluring temptation for high-altitude mountaineers, and it's good to fall for it.
It has also plenty of pre-Columbian ruins, both in their hillsides and inside the volcano as well, used by pilgrims coming to ceremonies held there, although those on the summit rim are sacred kunza shrines; there's also an emerald-blue lagoon inside the crater, which is most likely reached through the Bolivian side, as the route is better and there are inexpensive guide and transport services (compulsory in Bolivia).
It takes 4 days -5 if going relaxedly- to get to the top and back to San Pedro.
No technical mountaineering skills are needed.
The NW side of the cone is said to have antitank/antipersonal landmines. High-altitude clothing and gloves, ski/walking poles, hiking boots (not necessarily plastic), expedition-grade tent and sleeping bag, MSR-type stove, glacier sunglasses, water for the 3 first days, GPS, compass.
A VHF/GPRS radio is useful if going in a group.
Passport is required for everybody.
Altitude sickness hits hard up there (see my San Pedro's "Warnings and dangers" section on this issue.
Some tour agencies, both in San Pedro and Santiago, provide all the equipment and guidance to get there, but for a price...
This is another cute little village on the way from the Tatio Geysers to San Pedro. There are some nice places to have a traditional tasty lunch, but the main drawcard here is the little white-washed church. The church looks like so many of the traditional white-washed chuches here, but this is the oldest one in the area. If the church is open, do go inside and you will be rewarded with the sight of the most ridiculous looking Jesus on a cross that you will ever see (see pictures)! In front of the church there is also a little square so typical of South America. Makes for a nice post-lunch stroll.
If you appreciate archeology, you should give this small museum an hour or so of your time. It cost 1000 pesos admission (Dec '04). Some good exhibits including mummies. In a town that really has little to see, this is a bright spot.
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Address: Tocopilla 411, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
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